Review

Abstract

Reviewed by: An Inca Account of the Conquest of Peru Jonathan D. Steigman (bio) Titu Cusi Yupanqui. An Inca Account of the Conquest of Peru. Trans. Ralph Bauer. Boulder: UP of Colorado, 2005. ISBN 087081821X. 166 pp. With the first English translation of the account of Titu Cusi Yupanqui, English professor Ralph Bauer gives us a view of the Spanish conquest of Peru from a Native perspective. Bauer provides an excellent introduction that situates the work within its historical and cultural context. Through the introduction and copious explanatory endnotes, the reader gains a real understanding of the hybrid nature of the text, a result of the process of its composition. Titu Cusi Yupanqui was the next-to-last Native ruler of the Inca Empire. Considered by the Spanish authorities to be in a state of rebellion against the colonial government after inheriting the throne from his father, the rebellious native leader Manco Inca, Titu Cusi composes his work, a letter to the Spanish sovereign Philip II enumerating Spanish atrocities in Peru, from the jungle refuge of Vilcabamba in 1570. He tells his story in his native Quechua to the Augustinian missionary, fray Marcos García, who translated it into Spanish. It was then transcribed by Martín de Pando, Titu Cusi’s mestizo secretary, thus contributing to the hybrid nature of the work. As Bauer points out, both Andean and Spanish influences are present in the text. He notes that García exerted some influence over the composition process because “the Spanish missionary ‘ordered’ and translated it into Spanish” (12). [End Page 86] Bauer notes that the document is more than just an appeal to Philip II to take control of the situation in Peru and to put an end to Spanish abuses; it is also a subtle form of Native resistance against Spanish rule: Aware that their clubs, pikes, and slingshots were largely ineffective against the armored and mounted Spanish conquistadors, Native leaders soon learned to appropriate not only the foreigners’ use of swords, firearms, and horses but also the most powerful weapon that the invaders had brought: the written word. The text presented here tells an early chapter in the long history of Native appropriations of this European medium. (18) Titu Cusi not only appropriates the written word generally but also chooses a specific format for his appeal to the crown: the “relación” (account). Bauer tells us that this is a form of legal discourse with origins in notarial rhetoric. It is intended to present an eyewitness account within the context of a legal dispute, and it relies upon firsthand experience for its authority. The rhetorical style of the “relación” also becomes a historiographic text, in addition to a legal deposition designed to influence official policy and legislation. Titu Cusi’s approach demonstrates a profound understanding on his part of the modes of European discourse that he appropriates to pursue his goals of more a humane colonial system, providing a means by which he might return from internal exile. Bauer shows that Cusi’s work is typical of sixteenth century scholastic political philosophy, similar in style to the rhetorical contributions of Indigenous rights advocates Francisco de Vitoria y Bartolomé de las Casas. Titu Cusi’s account lends specificity to the work of las Casas, pointing out that burdens imposed by the neofeudal rulers of Peru were responsible for the decline of the Native population. Having converted to Catholicism, Titu Cusi portrays himself in a way that is similar to the rhetorical style of las Casas, as a Christian prince, the “natural” ruler of the land who is voluntarily placing himself under the authority of Philip II, according to Bauer. We also learn from Bauer’s introduction that the account is a [End Page 87] political document as well as a literary work. It is a petition from Titu Cusi to Philip II intended to initiate a negotiation process designed to end the Inca rebellion against Spanish authority. Titu Cusi’s goal is to end hostilities and gain an estate and pension for himself. His mission was ultimately unsuccessful, but his attempt at reaching accommodation with the Spanish government has left us with a document that provides...